Disciples II - Retrospective Review

[HiddenX]

Gamepressure is looking back at Disciples II:

Disciples 2 Was Heroes 3's Fiercest Competitor; Darker, Rougher and Almost as Playable

Today, the series' position has weakened, but when Disciples 2 came out, the brand was considered one of the most dangerous competitors to Heroes 3. It was similar yet different enough for turn-based strategy enthusiasts to reckon with the title.

Contents:

• Disciples 2 - the dark cousin of Heroes
• Disciples 2 - the same, but different
• Disciples 2 - always second, but still great
• How to play Disciples 2 today?

Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is a phenomenon. A game that is always alive, with a strong gameplay foundation, further developed by dedicated fans. It's so universal that it's almost like the go-to board game when you want to add some variety to a geeky party. Horn of the Abyss ensured that Heroes will stay with us for ages to come, despite strong competition such as Songs of Conquest. Will the upcoming new Heroes change this? I doubt that.

I remember the times when nothing was certain. Heroes 4 – no matter how good it turned out – was bugged and so different from the beloved third part that the series' position weakened. At that time, Strategy First made a strong hit that almost rivaled Heroes 3, and certainly outperformed Heroes 4 and other contenders from that time, such as Age of Wonders 2 and Etherlords. Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy not only improved the ideas present in the genre but did so with such style that it momentarily outshone all other turn-based strategy games combined with RPG elements.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

More information.

 

[SSIGuy]

It was a great game; too bad the 3rd version couldn't build on that (wasn't terrible but definitely not as good as 2). Seems doubtful we'll ever see a proper sequel.

 

[vanedor]

I don't know why people didn't like Heroes IV. I tried it a couple of years ago and I thought it was pretty good. Perhaps the bugs that people had complained about had been fixed by then.

 

[SSIGuy]

I don't know why people didn't like Heroes IV. I tried it a couple of years ago and I thought it was pretty good. Perhaps the bugs that people had complained about had been fixed by then.

I can't recall exactly after all these years, but it remains near the bottom of the HoMMs for me.

 

[Irien]

Obviously only a personal take on things, but for me HoMM2 was something of a peak - the original seemed rather basic, but HoMM2 took things to another level, and the PoL expansion added significant additions (gates, in particular (allowed for more guided/story maps), and of course random map generator). HoMM3 was essentially more of the same - it felt like fundamentally the same game, with slightly improved graphics and more content. After multiple expansions etc, I was suffering HoMM exhaustion and it didn't really feel like the series was adding much beyond new maps. I don't think I finished Shadow of Death, and the Chronicles set weren't easy to source in the UK.

When HoMM4 came out, I was keen to play it, but bounced off it fairly quickly because once again, it felt like "more HoMM" at a time when frankly, I was HoMM'd out. I don't necessarily think this was HoMM4's fault - the game was rushed out of the door because of NWC/3DO finances, but I think the game didn't really find anything to "double down on" to make it stand out and demand to be played after all the expansions to HoMM3.

HoMM5+ just haven't felt like the NWC games to me, so I end up just going back to HoMM2 (and sometimes 3) when I feel like a fix.

 

[borcanu]

yup. more fond of it than homm . better immersion and atmosphere. more coherent art direction

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Loved Disciples, both 1 and 2. Too bad it runs so badly on modern systems.
Would be great to get a remastered version or something.

 

[num4!vr34umu5t4r!]

Good memories with this game, and i refinished it back in 2022, pretty long from what i remember with all de addons, took me almost 100h.
https://www.moddb.com/games/disciples-ii-dark-prophecy/downloads/disciples-wrapper-v160 this worked for me for the 2nd game. There is one for the first game but had a tons of crashes, impossible to play.

 

[Carnifex]

I never did give this series a go, will have to do that one of these days.

 

[Vitirr]

I don't know why people didn't like Heroes IV. I tried it a couple of years ago and I thought it was pretty good. Perhaps the bugs that people had complained about had been fixed by then.

Besides the bugs (H3 wasn't exent of bugs when it was initially released either) I think it was just too big of a departure from the formula that H2 and H3 had established. Fans being fans just wanted the same but enhanced, fixed and improved.
In my opinion some of the new features weren't polished enough, or they just didn't work. But the game had good ideas too.
On the other hand I think visually is quite inferior to H3 and even H2 (which in my opinion has the best atmosphere with its fairy tale like graphics and excelent music), having for instance some horrible unit design.

HoMM3 was essentially more of the same - it felt like fundamentally the same game, with slightly improved graphics and more content.

And more depth too in town and hero development. I agree that it is a direct continuation of the formula though, but it improved it enough to be arguably considered the best in the series by many.

 

[Carnifex]

I might have to give Heroes four another shot one day.

 

[Hastar]

Obviously only a personal take on things, but for me HoMM2 was something of a peak - the original seemed rather basic, but HoMM2 took things to another level, and the PoL expansion added significant additions (gates, in particular (allowed for more guided/story maps), and of course random map generator). HoMM3 was essentially more of the same - it felt like fundamentally the same game, with slightly improved graphics and more content. After multiple expansions etc, I was suffering HoMM exhaustion and it didn't really feel like the series was adding much beyond new maps. I don't think I finished Shadow of Death, and the Chronicles set weren't easy to source in the UK.

When HoMM4 came out, I was keen to play it, but bounced off it fairly quickly because once again, it felt like "more HoMM" at a time when frankly, I was HoMM'd out. I don't necessarily think this was HoMM4's fault - the game was rushed out of the door because of NWC/3DO finances, but I think the game didn't really find anything to "double down on" to make it stand out and demand to be played after all the expansions to HoMM3.

HoMM5+ just haven't felt like the NWC games to me, so I end up just going back to HoMM2 (and sometimes 3) when I feel like a fix.

Have you checked this mod out, it may be, right up your alley.

Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Succession Wars - Heroes 3.5: In the Wake of Gods Portal

Autori modifikácie Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Succession Wars Mod, sľubujú vydanie oficiálnej hrateľnej verzie do konca roka 2015, takže majú necelé dva mesiace.

heroes3wog.net

I think HoMM 3 is superior to HoMM 2 and 4 in every aspect. Disciples 2 doesn't compare to HoMM 3. One is a fine steak house and the other is Arby's